Anna: “I use technology and assert myself as a woman”

Very often the union between tradition and innovation makes it possible to improve a production process, bringing together the best experiences of the past with the most modern technologies of the present. A principle that also applies to the processing of Grana Padano Dop and in the production of the raw material needed to make this cheese. Anna Guerini Rocco he knows very well. Breeder of Cremonatwenty-eight, has been working in the family business for about seven years: “I take care of the stable and the animals, while my brother Paul he works in the countryside, we divided the tasks”, he tells us, explaining that his duties include milking, taking care of the animals, cleaning the cages: “My brother, on the other hand, works the land, sows and brings home the produce which serves as animal feed, such as hay, alfalfa, shredded”.

There are seven years of difference between the two, they belong to two different generations: the added value they bring to this work also derives from the comparison between their approaches and mentalities, often different and which also take into account the suggestions and methods of their family members. “I am very attentive to new technologies and when I can, I prefer to use them to eliminate manual tasks, unlike my brother, who is much more used to working in the traditional way”, says the farmer, who joined the company, first managed by her father and his brothers, immediately after school as a surveyor. “Now I’ve set up a milking group, it’s a robot that milks the cows autonomously”, he tells us: an operation that has freed up precious time, given that before the introduction of the robot, “We manually engaged in this activity every night for three hours.”

An innovation that was appreciated by his brother and which brought several advantages: “The cows are milked more often, three times a day instead of twice, the risk of contracting mastitis is reduced and less antibiotics are used. Furthermore, the animals are subjected to less stress”, says the farmer, pointing out that in this way she also gains time to devote to other activities: “So I can help my brother in the fields, if needed, or follow one of my passions: fairs”. And she tells us that in her free time she also trains the cows that participate in competitions during the fairs: “The animal is not judged only from an aesthetic point of view, but also in the way it walks and in its ability to follow my instructions”.

But it’s just the mix of skills related to the different generations of farmers who make the best contributions to the farming business. “We are more technological, but the older ones have a lot of experience, they know the fields better than me and my brother, and so they help us. For example, they suggest what to sow, what type of corn to choose to get a better yield”.

In this business, being able to emerge and establish yourself can be tough: you need passion and dedication, because “there is no Saturday or Sunday, there are no holidays, you work all year round, even 14 or 15 hours a day in summer”. And when you are a woman, sometimes more difficulties are addedas Anna Guerini Rocco tells us: “It can be heavy. For example, when a representative comes to the company to sell his goods, he prefers to talk to my brother or my father because they are men. But I made myself respected, thanks also to the ‘help from my family who have always supported me. So if the representative wants to sell, he has to deal with me”.